Friday Happy Hour: Qualia Wines

Urban winery. The phrase has a fantastic ring to it. Vineyards have long been simply located within the wine producing region (like the Napa or Sonoma Valleys in California), but Qualia Wines is changing the landscape of wine production with an urban winery located in San Fancisco. The grapes are soucred from the Sonoma Valley, but the wine itself is produced in San Francisco proper. Genius! I love that the phrasing they use is Urban Crafted/Country Grown.

Qualia Wines generously sent me two bottles of wine to sample: the 2011 Sauvignon Blanc and the 2009 Syrah-Grenache.

We decided to open the bottles when my sister and her husband were visiting, and we had a delightful happy hour and dinner with them. We opened the Sauvignon Blanc first and it really is a fantastic patio happy hour wine. It’s light and refreshing and suits a sunny afternoon well. My sister and I sipped on the white while Spencer played. The Qualia Sauvignon Blanc is the perfect wine for spring and summer and would be great at a bbq or party.

This day also marked the debut of wine robot, a present from my sister. It was only fitting to use him for the first time when my sister was visiting.

We opened the red right before dinner so we could save the white for everyone to try. Once the husbands arrived, we drank the red with dinner. A really easy dinner to do for a group is a salad bar, with heartier options like grilled chicken or steak, beans and a variety of cheeses. The Syrah-Grenache paired nicely with the chicken and the cheese. When serving salad with wine, I like to use a creamy dressing so they don’t fight too much.

The Syrah-Grenache is a fruity red with a clean finish. I’m a big fan of blended reds because sometimes the single varietals can be to heavy for me and this was fantastic. Since people might not be familiar with the blend or it’s componants, I’m quoting the winemaker’s notes for this one:

The idea was to take the dark, spicy and well structured style of the Syrah and add the red fruits, lively acidity and earthy tones of the Granache. These two grapes pair naturally, making a wine with great acid, lively fruit and a clean finish.

The urban tasting room at their Dogpatch Winery (located in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco) is open by appointment now and will be open to the public later in 2012. I hope to visit when my sister moves to San Francisco in the fall. Qualia Wines is breaking from tradition and offering a tasting room that is more of a lounge setting and sounds like it is going to be super fun.